Dr Rashmi Kodoth, Smile care, Vashi.Strong, healthy teeth and gums directly result from proper eating habits. If you want your teeth to remain strong, it is important to make healthy and smart choices of eating habits. Healthy tooth and gums help us keep healthy overall.What are the harmful eating habits ?

• Snacking throughout the day and regular consumption of sugary acidic food or drink can cause tooth decay.
• Eating sticky sweets after dinner…..may cause increased bacterial activity during sleep.
• If you have a habit of drinking tea and coffee regularly, teeth are more prone to decay because of added sugar content.
• Sipping soda, fizzy drinks, aerated drinks-causes acid attacks on enamel.
• Repeated binge eating (consuming large amount of food very quickly), impulsive gorging, continuous eating, induced vomiting can also cause acid attacks on enamel.
• Eating disorder like anorexia and bulimia –anorexia is an eating disorder where the person has intense fear of gaining weight. People with anorexia avoid eating food and starve to lose weight.This is a serious condition that is harmful to teeth and overall health. Bulimia is another eating disorder where the person will binge on food and to avoid weight gain will involve in compensatory behavior like self induced vomiting, dieting, use of diet pills, fasting, use of laxatives. People with anorexia and bulimia will not get adequate nutrients, proteins, vitamins required for good health. This disorder causes injury to teeth, muscles, major organs and the entire body and should be treated.
• Biting on strong hard sucking sweet, bone or any solid object can damage or fracture teeth.
• Bad eating habits can cause bad breath.

To keep the teeth healthy, it is important to have well balanced diet which includes

1. Bread, cereals, other grains.
2. Fiber rich raw food, fruits, vegetables.
3. Calcium rich food like milk yogurt cheese.
4. Meat fish poultry.

Good eating habits that will keep your teeth healthy

• Rinse after every meal.
• Try not to snack between the meals and drink lots of water. Give 2-3 hours gap between meals so that acid level in mouth comes down and gives a chance for saliva to counteract effect of acid and repair enamel.
• The right diet and nutrition are very important for healthy teeth and gums.
• Eat raw food like fresh fruits and raw vegetables as snacks.
• Do not have junk food, aerated drinks. The high sugar content of junk food washes away the protective enamel layer of the teeth leading to corrosive cavities.
• Avoid sticky foods after meals.
• Do not bite on a hard solid object that damages the tooth.
• Use a new toothbrush every three months or when the bristles break or bend.
• Brush twice daily.
• Clean between teeth with floss or interdental cleaner to remove plaque once a day.
• Regular dental check up.